


Open Your Eyes

by turnedherbrain



Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, First Love, Imagined Scene, Leotilda, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 20:44:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14838857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turnedherbrain/pseuds/turnedherbrain
Summary: Take my hand, knot your fingers through mineAnd we'll walk from this dark room for the last time.Open Your Eyes~ Snow PatrolImagined elements of s3 ep4. Spoilers for s3 eps 1-3 : )





	1. Calling Niska

**Author's Note:**

> After talking to Niska, and finding out about ‘the synth who sleeps’, Leo and Mattie go to visit Max.
> 
> This fic kind of follows on from the one-shots:  
> \- [Almost Human](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14747393)  
> \- [The Gift](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14838620)  
> but they can be read separately.

‘Hello, brother.’ The voice at the end of the phone line was unmistakable. Leo pressed the handset closer to his ear, as if eavesdroppers were standing close by.

‘Niska!’ He was absurdly glad that she’d answered – that she didn’t ask how he’d got her always-temporary number. ‘How did you know it was me?’

‘An unknown number, with a call location geo-mapped to the same street as the Hawkins’. I took an educated guess.’ Her voice, even over this line, was crackling with sardonic wit. ‘I presumed you’d gone there with Mattie. After all, she cares for you.’

Leo wanted to say ‘how did you know...’ again, but he’d already guessed Niska’s answer to that. ‘Nis - it’s about Max and Mia. I’m worried about them both... I need your help. We’re family. We need to...’

Niska cut him off. ‘There is no ‘we’.’

‘Yes, there is. Family counts, above all else. We need to protect one another.’ He glanced up as Mattie entered the room, happily distracted by her appearance. An inner warmth started to diffuse from the centre of his chest.

‘We need to protect **ourselves**. And those that we love.’ Niska’s response had an air of unopposed finality to it. _Don’t argue with me, brother. You won’t win._

Leo sighed audibly, still distracted by Mattie moving about the room. She looked very nice today, he thought. Maybe he should tell her. That was what human partners did – gave each other compliments. Told each other that they loved...

Niska’s voice scissored through his thoughts, surprising him. ‘I’ll check on Mia. You know she’s trying to live as an organic human would do. It’s... admirable, but unwinnable.’ She was reflecting on her previous incarceration, and Laura’s failed defence of her human status.

‘At least Mia’s _trying_ ,’ replied Leo, almost as obdurate.

‘We’re **all** trying. All of us. Each in our different ways. Our race cannot replicate; reproduce. Unless we take action, we will die out within a generation.’ Niska’s voice had a note of sadness and ennui that Leo hadn’t heard before. Of course – Astrid. She wanted to stay alive. Defend her love. Even have a family. He would do the same, if he...

‘I suggest that you and Mattie check on Max. Our little brother has more troubles than the rest of us combined,’ Niska commented, aware of Max’s difficulties from her own brief visit.

‘I’m not taking Mattie with me. I won’t put her in danger.’ Leo lowered his voice to a quiet growl, glad that Mattie was currently busy in the kitchen. He was still beautifully distracted, looking at her.

‘Mattie will protect **_you_**!’ laughed Niska, not even trying to hide her incredulity. ‘She’s _your_ strength. Haven’t you worked that out yet?’

Leo was irked by his sister’s sarcastic tone, but deep down, he agreed. He was like a variable wind that changed direction, whereas Mattie was an unyielding tree, resolutely rooted while the wild weather raged around it.

Taking Leo’s silence as acquiescence, Niska continued: ‘One more thing. I was visited by an orange-eyes last night. He had something interesting to say.’ She related the synth’s visit, omitting the fact that she’d seen him more abstractly, intruding on her core memory.

Leo was puzzled, but immediately intrigued by the riddle of ‘the synth who sleeps’. ‘We’ll find out what we can,’ he promised Niska.

‘Thanks,’ she said in return. Then the phone went silent. Leo put down his handset in turn. When had his sister ever thanked anyone? When had she shown that she cared? Her hard shell was cracking, and he liked her all the more for it. After all, he was also trying to adjust, adapt: to get used to being with organic humans – get used to _being_ organic human.

Mattie wandered back into the lounge, and he smiled as she approached.

‘Cuppa?’ she said, offering him a scalding mugful of tea. As he stretched out both hands, she added: ‘Careful. It’s hot.’

Their fingertips touched as she gave him the cup, and Leo instantly thought of how their hands had touched last night – how every part of them had been so close and heated.

‘You look really nice,’ he said. Mattie’s lips pursed – a sign he recognised: that she was pleased but trying to suppress her smile.

‘Thanks,’ she said nonchalantly, pretending it was something she heard every day. He’d complimented her before, but not for her appearance, and she liked him so much more for it now. ‘What was the news?’ She motioned to the discarded mobile on the side table.

‘I’m going to see Max,’ replied Leo. ‘I can tell you everything on the way, if you’d like? That is – if you want to come.’ Mattie nodded a distinct yes. She wasn’t going to let Leo go off alone to the synth compound. The guilt hung heavily about her already. She would never forgive herself if something happened to him, after the previous year of watching him lying so silent and still: unconscious while the world about him changed beyond recognition.

They sipped their drinks in thoughtful silence, both of them inwardly torn between visiting Max’s synth community and the danger that posed, or staying in their safe, human world.


	2. Visiting Max

Leo and Mattie were lying close together on the wet grass, just outside the compound fence. The cool moisture seeped into their jeans and onto their skin. Leo felt the warmth of her thigh pressed against his, and dipped into another recollection of the last couple of nights – a sensory memory of their lips touching and the tentative, then passionate way they had kissed.

‘What now?’ he asked, already deferring to her.

‘Now... we wait. I hope it works. I haven’t tried this before,’ she whispered, her breath tickling his ear.

‘It’ll work. I’ve got every faith in you.’ Leo reassured her. He wanted to turn his head and kiss her again; tumble in the wild wet grass until they were soaked through. He was thankful the night-time darkness covered his fantasy: perhaps she didn’t think the same. Perhaps she was already regretting what they’d done. But she’d come with him: they were still together, even if they were lying here tense and expectant.

Just then, the heavy metal gate buzzed, making way for them to rush inside. Running carefully, keeping close to the ground, they entered the Railyard, uncertain if they would be welcomed or cast out again.

...

‘Max?’ Leo peered at his brother, who was lying unmoving on the narrow bed, apparently sleeping. His index fingers were uncurled, but his eyes were closed. Leo spoke again softly, but with more urgency: ‘Maxie! Open your eyes.’ They were in Leo’s old room; the place where he’d been hidden. The door had been locked, until Mattie had hacked in and overridden the code.

Max opened his eyes wide; automatically smiling. A sunshine smile. _This_ was the Max he knew and loved. But in another instant, the smile dropped and Max sat up, forcing Leo away, outstretched arms pushing him back.

‘Leo! You **_must_** go. It’s not safe for you here,’ he urged. ‘Go back to Mattie. She will...’

‘Hi Max.’ Mattie stepped out of the shadow cast by the open door, and into their unequal triangle.

‘I expected you to keep him safe.’ Max spoke sternly, not returning her greeting. ‘You both need to leave. Right now.’

‘Not until you come with us,’ Mattie said simply. She stretched out her hand towards him, a clear sign of reconciliation. Her fingers appeared silver-grey in the low light. Max gazed sadly at her extended hand, then looked down, his own words of wisdom returning to him: _Some will reach back, not many. But those that take our hand will not let go.  
_

‘Five minutes. I will meet you outside the sanctuary, beyond the rise. Now: go.’ Max commanded, still not directly facing them. When Leo and Mattie had left the room, he sagged, placing his hands on the hard surface of the bed. ‘Flash.’ He looked skywards, saying her name like a ragged sigh. ‘What am I to do? I wish you were here with me now. I wish you could tell me what to do.’ He paused, as if listening for a reply. ‘You would tell me to trust in myself: I know. You always did.’

He gave a hollow laugh, and slid down from the bed, walking silently after his beloved brother and Mattie, that bravest of humans.


	3. On The Outside

‘I understand: it’s what you had to do,’ agreed Leo. He’d always tried to advise his brother, but their current predicament was far beyond what they’d experienced before. He moved towards Max, who was standing on a low part of the hillock, the metal-globe sculptures standing starkly beautiful but indifferent behind him. Leo placed a hand on his younger brother’s shoulder, seeing the destructive weight of responsibility that was bowing the taller figure.

‘I didn’t want to, believe me Leo. I was always the best one – do you remember?’ In the monotone moonlight, Leo could swear that Max’s eyes glinted with unfallen tears.

‘You still are,’ Leo confirmed with passionate conviction. ‘This is a impossible situation. Whatever you do: you cannot win. Please – come home with us. We’ll do everything in our power to keep you safe. You’re my brother. I miss you,’ he pleaded, his hand still firmly on Max’s shoulder. ‘You can help us find the synth who sleeps. Just think, Maxie... we can go on another adventure. Just like we used to – remember?’

‘You have Mattie now,’ said Max softly, feeling the hard ache of Flash’s absence even more. ‘I must stay here. My ultimate responsibility is towards the community. Not in hiding. Not ashamed because I did nothing.’ His face was partly shadowed, the curved metal strips of the hilltop sculpture casting prison bars of darkness on his skin.

Leo recalled Niska’s words right then: _‘We’re **all** trying. All of us. Each in our different ways.’_ He breathed out a sigh and moved closer to Max, until their foreheads were touching. He felt the smooth coolness of Max’s synthetic skin. His brother. Always.

Then he moved away, struggling to take each retreating step, shaking his head slightly when he reached Mattie. She took his hand, noticing the faint tear-tracks on his cheeks, immediately wanting to kiss them away. ‘Let me try,’ she said, gripping Leo's hand more tightly, then letting it go so that she could walk the short distance to his brother.

‘Max. Some of the synths here: they oppose you,’ she said warningly when she reached him. Max’s eyes were partly hooded in the semi-darkness. She couldn’t see what he was thinking, but his bowed body told her that he was half-defeated, collapsing in and down.

‘I have Anatole,’ countered Max. ‘He is a wise advisor. And many more here agree with me. Directly opposing humans will only bring more death and destruction. We are far fewer in number. We are very dependent upon human goodwill to survive. I must serve as an example; so that those few who cannot see this wisdom begin to believe again.’

‘You don’t have to serve as anything!’ argued Mattie. For once, the emotion rising within her made her less circumspect than Leo. ‘If anything happens to any of you: Mia. Niska. You – especially you. It will destroy Leo. It will destroy him. Do you understand? Do you **understand**.’ She stood there, opposite Max – feeling him give way to her argument. She was desperate to force everything back to how it once was.

‘I understand you, Mattie. But he no longer needs our protection. He is fully human now. He is loved.’ Max lifted up his head upon this pronouncement, until his eyes were looking directly into hers... challenging her to deny any of this.

‘If everything else was the same: would you come with us now?’ asked Mattie, fearing the answer.

‘No,’ admitted Max. ‘We must all make our own way in this world. I must try to lead. You and Leo... you must create a different path, together.’

Mattie, still stubborn, but temporarily defeated, moved much closer so she could hug Max – a fierce hug that gave him energy and life again. ‘Stay safe, Max. Don’t let anything bad happen. We want to see you at the other side of all this,’ she murmured. He let those words enter his system and fly around his circuitry, storing them in his permanent memory. This was why he could leave Leo with her. Leo was still so young, in how he really was below the surface – he was so unknowing. Mattie had the maturity and wisdom to keep his brother from harm.

As Mattie reluctantly broke away, stepping back from their embrace, Max called to her gently, so that she paused and turned.

Leo, watching their silhouetted interaction like it was a shadow theatre, hoped that Max had changed his mind and was prepared to leave.

‘Mattie,’ pondered Max. ‘The synth who sleeps. I think it might be an as-yet unconscious synthetic. When my brothers and sisters became conscious, many of them spoke of an awakening. Before, they were in an enforced sleep. Then, they opened their eyes. Their being made conscious woke them to the possibilities of this world.’ He looked up to the sculptures on the rise, gleaming in their silent splendour, and remembered there could be such beauty in this damaged environment.

‘And when this synth awakes – what will happen?’ questioned Mattie, her head tipped to one side as she considered the possibilities, both good and bad.

‘I don’t know – not yet. But if this synth can bring peace and harmony... if they can become the saviour of our race; that would be beyond any expectations.’ He reflected on Anatole’s faith in their father as saviour; and the blind faith he’d had once too, in far less troubled times. Maybe miracles were still possible.

‘I hope so, Max. I really hope so,’ Mattie answered, thinking of the absolution the synth’s awakening might bring to her own implacable guilt. She moved to hug him again in regretful goodbye, but Max stopped her from reaching out to hold him. Instead, he bent down until they were touching foreheads softly.

‘You are the best of them, Matilda Hawkins,’ he spoke low, but clearly. ‘Look after Leo. Keep him safe from further harm. For me. For all of us.’

Mattie nodded in response, then forced herself to turn away so he couldn’t see her tears. ‘You stay safe too. Keep yourself from harm,’ she gulped. ‘Do you understand, Max? Do you **understand**.’ The final words came out shudderingly, as she struggled not to break down further.

‘I understand,’ said Max. ‘Now go.’ He pushed her away gently, propelling her back towards Leo.

Mattie shook her head as she reached Leo’s expectant figure. He’d been leaning forward, trying to gauge her expression in the minimal light. ‘I’m sorry Leo. I’m so, so, sorry.’ She pressed her face against his chest, reaching round to hold him tightly. Leo wrapped his arms around her too – fiercely; protectively. From their position on the lower ground, he saw Max climb the rise, appear momentarily in silhouette, then disappear back down into the darkness.

He felt the welcome weight of Mattie’s body against his, and realised that Niska had been wrong. _He_ had been wrong. Max too. They expected Mattie to protect him. But he would be her protector in turn: help her to mend, to recover.

They stayed like this for some time, Mattie holding on, letting out all her fear and guilt, until the sun finally started to appear. At first, it was a thin red line just above the horizon, but soon it lit up the fields and their wider surroundings. Gazing at the day’s slow awakening, he felt glad to be alive. And he was more than glad to be here, with Mattie, both of them holding on despite the odds.

The synth who slept would wake... like the sun that rose after the dark night and cast its light upon the millions of humans below. He hoped, when this synth awakened, that it would bring light to them all again. He really hoped.


End file.
